2012 Youth Coaching Manual - AFL Community

Young people operate in four interconnected ‘worlds’ – the Family World, the School World, the Peer World and the Inner
World (Self).
Four worlds of a young person
School
World
Family
World
Peer
World
Inner
World
Emotional difficulties in adolescence – more than a passing phase
From being characterised as a time in which ‘storm and stress’ are inevitable and therefore to be ‘grown out of’, adolescence
is increasingly viewed as a period through which most young people pass relatively unscathed, although encountering
many ‘first time’ experiences which may be stressful. Nevertheless, community concerns about youth suicide, drug abuse,
homelessness and unemployment have focussed attention increasingly on the mental health and emotional well-being of
young people.
The nature and prevalence of mental health problems
in adolescence
While most young people negotiate adolescence without upheaval, around one in five adolescents do experience periods of
prolonged emotional difficulties and rates of adolescent-onset psychiatric disorders appear to be increasing.
The Department of Human Services’ Framework for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (1996) reported that
between 10 and 20 per cent of young people in Victoria suffer from diagnosable psychiatric disorders and three to five
per cent of these have a more severe mental illness. Depression is the most frequently reported mental health problem in
adolescence and the largest single risk factor for suicide and suicidal behaviour.
The suicide rate in Australia has trebled among young Australian males and doubled for young Australian females over the past
three decades. A recent Victorian adolescent health survey found that one in 20 15-16-year-olds engage in self-harm on a regular
basis. Adolescent alcohol and substance abuse, eating disorders and risky sexual behaviours are also of increasing concern.
Young people’s lives may also be affected by the experiences of those around them. Research for the National Mental Health
Strategy (1997) found that substantial numbers of young Australians have had exposure to mental health-related problems
through people they knew.
162 AFL Youth Coaching Manual